Reunion of Souls
by Cow Mustard
Summary: Hwoarang has beaten Jin at the fourth tournament. It seems he has nothing to do now until he discovers that Baek is alive. Rated teen for Hwoarang's bad mouth.
1. Chapter 1

Reunion of Souls.

I do not own Tekken or any of the characters mentioned in this story. Please do not sue me. 

Somewhere in a desolate car garage, a sharp roundhouse kick could be heard thudding on a muscular forearm. That forearm then turned into a sharp body hook aimed for the fiery fighter's midsection. A flash of red was seen as the first fighter stepped just out of range allowing the strong hand to snap past his midsection unharmed. The hooded warrior continued his assault with a low roundhouse; however, it was interrupted by a front kick flashing up to hit the sender's midsection. The stoic fighter parried the foot away following up with a powerful uppercut. This was barely blocked by the fiery fighter.

In the pause created by the fierce strike, Hwoarang flashed his rival a competitive smile. Jin Kazama returned this gesture by narrowing of his eyes and a taking a slow breath. The two fighters knew each other well from their past two battles. Jin subconsciously assessed his opponent. In a simple statement, Taekwondo at its best. Passionate beyond reason, Hwoarang's every move was fierce and precise. The young red head sported an arsenal of moves that could be both viscous and deceptive by nature. Every move had several follow up moves that Hwoarang deftly used to keep his opponents on their toes. 'Or knock them of those said toes', Jin silently thought. Hwoarang was also taking part in this mental assessment. Jin Kazama was the fatal lightning regardless of his fighting style. The old Jin had more range he mentally gauged. He was also a lot more predictable. The new fighting style that Jin studied consisted mostly of short, crisp strikes utilizing the natural strength of Jin's body and the sharpness of his mind. During the fight, Hwoarang had a large deal of success keeping Jin on the outside by using his reach. However, Jin still held many of his defensive skills allowing him to stand toe to toe with the young Korean. The two warriors were equal to each other, just as they had been in their two previous encounters. They both knew that the deciding factor for victory in this battle would be who wanted it more.

Jin ducked into a low sweep, continuing to try to beat the Korean's leg into submission. Hwoarang leapt up, allowing Jin's sweep to go unanswered beneath him, and turned into a sharp jump backpivot kick. The heel of his foot connected with Jin's midsection. Hwoarang pushed to follow up with a snap sidekick that Jin blocked with his forearm. Jin did not see the second mid wheel kick. Once again, Jin felt a sharp pain coursing through his abdomen. The Korean fighter knew exactly how to strike with his feet to cause the most pain possible. 'He lives up to his self proclaimed title of blood talon' Jin thinks before returning fire with a quick rush of punches catching Hwoarang before he had regained his stance. Hwoarang felt a sharp pain on his jaw. He mentally checked his injury in a second knowing that it was not broken….. yet. Hwoarang sidestepped the last of Jin's punches and struck with a low crescent kick. The kick connects and Hwoarang continues the assault with a higher reverse crescent. Jin blocks this turning into a mid backkick. The kick connects pushing back the red head.

They have been battling for about an hour the Korean judged. Even these two fighters could not keep up this brutal pace for much longer. It is time to end this Hwoarang thought. He lifted his front leg into a high snap sidekick. This kick was blocked but Hwoarang did not stop. He shot two mid snap kicks at his hooded rival. Jin had seen this powerful combo used by the red head before and predicted the fourth high snap kick. He tucked himself down to allow the kick to pass over him while he preformed a devastating rising attack. The fourth kick never came though. Hwoarang folded his front leg tight to his body before setting it down to rotate into a rising backpivot that caught the crouching Jin square underneath his jaw. The power of the Korean's leg knocked Jin back a few feet before his tired body landed with a hollow thud upon the ground.

Jin could feel all the breath knocked out of him alongside the other battle injuries. He tried to breathe, however the placement of a powerful foot on his chest stopped him. He looked up to see the Hwoarang standing above him. He expected to see a cocky smile on the Korean's face. However, the stoic face he saw scared him slightly. Hwoarang took a few slow breaths to get his air back.

"We can continue this if you want, or you can admit defeat." Hwoarang stated.

Jin still had to deal with his father and grandfather before leaving this tournament. It was obvious to him that he could not win against his red headed rival at the current time.

"I give," Jin breathed.

Much to Jin's surprise, a gloved hand came down to take his own. Hwoarang hauled the muscular young man to his feet. Jin looked at Hwoarang questioningly. Hwoarang knew that Jin was a man of few words and read the question that Jin had in his eyes.

Hwoarang started to answer the question, However he was interrupted by someone saying freeze and the sound of numerous guns being aimed at him.

"Shit!" Hwoarang hissed.


	2. I Fought Authority

Reunion of Souls

Chapter 2

I Fought Authority…..

Chapter two whoot!

Thanks for my first review "The little BloodTalon" I am also a large fan of Taekwondo and Hwoarang. I promise you that I will finish this story.

I do not own Tekken or any of the characters mentioned in this story. Please do not sue me.

Hwoarang looked around at the large military group that surrounded him. All armed with assault rifles. They were well trained he mentally judge by how they had surrounded Jin and himself.

'Damn, I was paying to much attention to the fight and not my surroundings,' Hwoarang mentally yelled at himself.

They did have one flaw though. They had come to close to both Jin and I. They seem to be over confident caring those weapons. Guns have always given one a false sense of security Hwoarang thought. Maybe if they just got a bit closer to him then he would do something and try to escape.

"Officer, you have been charged AWOL and our orders are to capture you and take you back to the military," stated the man in charge.

"No shit," Hwoarang said dripping with sarcasm.

"Give yourself up soldier!" ordered the leader.

Yea right Hwoarang thought. These guys are close enough now to do some damage to all of them. Alright I will take that onnnnnn……

"Hey," Jin's dark voice interrupted the babbling of the leader and Hwoarang's immediate plan for attack.

The nearest soldier turned his gaze to Jin. His attention was answered with a sharp uppercut. The soldier behind Jin grunted with surprise and lifted his gun to stop the stoic attacker. He was far too slow. He found Jin's heel stuck sharply in his solar plexus immediately knocking all the breath out of him and flinging him into the wall behind him. Jin silently looked at Hwoarang to send him a message. A sly whistle left the red head's lips. Jin is assisting me in escaping the military. There is hope for him yet. Hwoarang was way ahead of him though. He leapt up into a sidekick on one man. He pushed off to deliver a second sidekick to another officer's face. He turned off that kick to perform a 360 roundhouse to the man behind him. He took a small second to flash Jin a devious smile.

The military men did not like this turn of events. The leader ordered the troops to open fire on the two men. Bullets rained down on Jin and Hwoarang as they ran from the fire. They crouch dashed behind an old car for protection.

"Damn that was close," Hwoarang said looking to Jin.

Jin simple returned Hwoarang's statement with a nod.

Jin heard a slow metal clicking that immediately struck a memory in his mind. It was the same sound of the militaries rocket launcher. A thought flashed in Hwoarang's head. One that made him wonder about his rivalry with Kazama. He did not have time to think it over though so he reacted. He quickly grabbed Jin and pushed him down a nearby manhole. Jin began to fight back but Hwoarang told him to get out of here while he held the soldiers off. Jin's eyes took on a look of shock.

"Hey, don't get all starry eyed Kazama. If I never took care of my rivals, how could I get better without these kinds of battles?" The wheels continued to turn inside the red head's mind. "Besides, now you owe me. If you want to settle the score then meet me at the next tournament ready to fight."

"Thank you," Jin said.

"Get out of here dumb ass," Hwoarang yelled as Jin promptly complied

Somehow, Hwoarang was moved by all this. However, the rocket threatened to move him more. Jin had disappeared through the tunnel as Hwoarang heard the sound of the rocket leaving the launcher. He dived to the other car in time to avoid the blast from the rocket blowing apart the car he was previously using as a shield. The shockwave from the force whipped Hwoarang's head sharply into the car he was now behind. Stars began to dance in the young man's eyes. Through years of discipline, Hwoarang forced his body to move to a back door in attempts to escape. However, his attempt to escape was halted by two soldiers approaching him to tackle him.

'They stopped using guns,' Hwoarang wondered. 'They must want me alive now. Wish they would make up there minds.'

The first soldier tried to rush punch the Korean. Hwoarang steeped aside allowing the punch to pass by his face unstopped. He then aimed a knife hand for the soldier's jaw. There was a resounding crack and the soldier now lay unconscious on the floor as the second soldier attempted to tackle the red head from behind. Hwoarang deftly raised his back leg straight up to connect with the stomach of the soldier. He then continued to lift his leg knocking the militant far away. Hwoarang then turned to address the remaining soldiers. He suddenly felt a sharp prick in his right leg. He looked down to see the end of a tranquilizer needle impaled upon his leg.

"Ah shi…iii…t…" Hwoarang never finished his statement.

He looked down at the floor as it began to warp into weird shapes as the tranquilizer took effect. It became hard to think. Hwoarang recalled old memories trying to clear his mind. His first duel with Jin, The Ironfist tournament where he met with Ogre, memories of past fights and victories and the one memory that resounded over all of them. His first vivid memory was of a tall Korean man. The man wore a one-piece dobak that had grayed slightly from excessive use. The man himself wore a fearsome gaze. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. This only highlighted his face, which contained sharp eyes. He could hear the man saying to him to never give up.

"One must develop an indomitable spirit to perfect himself," Baek said. It was getting harder to see him though for the haze coming into his vision.

Through all the fog, Hwoarang knew one thing for sure. The floor was rushing up to meet him head on.

Next chapter, Hwoarang does some jail time. Then, everything turns upside down on the young men as he discovers a once lost soul has returned.


	3. Authority 1 Hwoarang 0

Reunion of Souls

Chapter 3

Sorry about how long this chapter took to post. I am going to be very busy till late August. Please wait. I promise to finish this story.

LBT: Thank you again for the reviews. I promise to read your stories when I get the chance.

Angel: I hope you like Baek to because I want to write some from his point of view. I feel he is terrible under represented in the game and in fanfiction.

Slushee: Thank you. I take pride in my fight scenes. I also try to use the moves that the fighters have on the game. The one between Jin and Hwoarang's first meeting will be referred back to often in this story.

I do not own Tekken or any of their characters. Please do not sue me. 

"Uhhhhh," Hwoarang had never been an eloquently spoken man. Yet, the first words out of his mouth were also the most honest. "I feel like refried shit."

"You should. You have been unconscious for two days now," stated the orderly Hwoarang assumed had been looking after him. He was still alive so he also assumed that he was not trying to kill him, as it would have been easy to do while he was unconscious.

'It would do me good not to piss of this person in the first few moments that I know him.' Hwoarang's thoughts continued, 'He might be my ticket to escape.'

"One, keep it down. I have one hell of a hangover. Two, where am I," Hwoarang asked rubbing his temples.

"You are at the Korean embassy located in Japan. A small unit sent to retrieve AWAL soldiers captured you. However, you had multiple injuries from the encounter and the fights you had at the tournament. Right now you are in our medical center," The orderly gave him all this information and Hwoarang slowly took it in.

"Ok, but you do not look like a nurse, why are you here?" Hwoarang probed.

"Your right, I am not a nurse. I just go around and survey people when I am not serving as a nurse assistant," the orderly mentioned

"So you just go from room to room checking in on people?" Hwoarang asked in an attempt to see if the man had the keys he would need to escape.

"Usually yes. However your case is slightly different," Hwoarang nodded and the orderly continued. "You took down seven of the best trained soldiers in the Korean military unarmed. There are special procedures for my visiting you."

'In short he does not have the keys,' Hwoarang thought.

"Actually, I only got five of them. Kazama was responsible for two of them," Hwoarang absently mentioned.

"I am sorry, what did you say?" the orderly asked.

"Oh nothing," Hwoarang mentally yelled at himself for babbling.

"So how did you do it?" Hwoarang looked over to see that he had the full attention of the orderly. The young man could not be eighteen years old yet. He was probably sent here by an influential father trying to keep his son out of the required Korean military time. The orderly's eyes had a sense of awe and fear as he looked at the red head. "There is no doubt about it, you are Hwoarang. I have heard so many rumors of your skill at the tournaments I have been to."

'Oh so that is it. He is a fellow TKD student," Hwoarang wondered if this could be used to his advantage.

"Well you know, a kick here and a kick there," Hwoarang said feigning boredom. He wanted to see just how much the boy would reel himself into a plan of escape.

"These men had several years of intense training, armor, and guns. No normal man could have taken down one of them, let alone seven," the orderly gasped obviously falling for Hwoarang's verbal trap.

"Meh, I had a really good teacher," Hwoarang said, wishing to change the topic immediately after the statement.

"Oh really, who?" orderly questioned.

"Doesn't matter much man, he died a while back," Hwoarang said with composure. It had taken him a long time to be able to say that statement without either going into a rage and kicking everyone around him or going into a crying fit. He preferred the kicking rage, but every man has there moments to cry Hwoarang thought.

"Sorry to hear that," the orderly stated. An awkward pause ensued.

Hwoarang began to think about Baek again. The man had taken a kid off the street. That alone was a noble enough for one man. Yet, he did not stop there. He took on a role of harsh instructor. He trained me to be the best I could be. Then he showed me how to obtain all that I thought was unreachable. He gave me a reason. He also helped me to develop a personality that was not based on my street swindling and habits. In his eyes, I could be something no one else would ever think I could do. I was a bad unruly kid who broke rules like it was my job. The man would always talk to me about it without yelling. He told me what I had done then asked me the hardest question. Why? Why did I do these things? I could never give him a reason that was decent, because everything I did out there was never for a good reason. Slowly Baek had changed Hwoarang to do what was best for himself. As time had passed, Hwoarang started to distance himself from his old life.

Hwoarang grinned at the irony of his final street hustle. He had announced he was retiring the gang leaving it behind to search for something else. The fight had started out easily enough. His gang members had held back so much that the Japanese group they had gone up against thought they were completely incompetent. His gang was made up of some of the toughest men in Korea. They had learned how to take a beating without getting hurt much. Tonight they were performing the charade with an extra vigor. The wages were high as Hwoarang walked out to take on the big money prize. The Japan group split open as a young man walked forward. Hwoarang narrowed his eyes as he assessed the man. He was powerfully built. Even through his heavy pants and large shirt, he could see the signs of a very toned man. Perhaps the most significant feature of this opponent was his hair. His hair was black as night and swept back. However, at the back of his head the hair stood up in a defiant spike. As he walked forward, Hwoarang could tell that he had been trained in some form or another. He walked with a fighter's grace. His breathing was perfectly even and unaltered by the circumstance he was in. His eyes never faltered. He starred Hwoarang straight in the eye closing the distance between them to a point of combative closeness. Hwoarang could tell from his gaze that he was not fooled by the hustle. This was going to be interesting Hwoarang thought.

Nothing was said. No words were needed to be spoken between the two. Both gangs grew silent in the presence of the two men who were currently taking in each other. Without a further moment, they both eased into a combative stance. Hwoarang began to bounce slightly creating a flowing side stance with no real proper form. Jin on the other hand took a stationary front stance with exact hand and leg positioning. The moment was brief. A quick guess at weaknesses in their current postures and the two went at each other. The unknown man started by turning into a high 360 hook kick that Hwoarang ducked. The red head immediately stood with a rising front kick that snapped back down into a powerful ax kick that cracked the concrete on which they stood.

Your technique must be able to break through everything in its path, Baek had once told him.

The mystery fighter had blocked the combo. This caused him to go into a small crouch. He retaliated by rising into an uppercut aimed at Hwoarang's face. The Korean allowed the momentum from the previous technique to flow him into a reverse spin. His foot positioning allowed him to perform a small sidestep during the move. The powerful hand rose unanswered as the red head continued his spin into a 360 roundhouse aimed for the head of the spiky haired man.

However powerful you become, you must also become fluid. Even the hardest rock can be broken with one hit. But the river will just flow around the thing that hits it to attack the object from another angle, this was mentioned when Hwoarang had tried to hit Baek as hard as he could with a side kick that Baek had merely sidestepped and threw a roundhouse knocking the breath out of the then young Hwoarang.

The execution was perfect Hwoarang thought. Yet, it only thudded with the hard muscle of the Japanese's forearm. Not bad Hwoarang thought. He did not have much time to think though. The muscular man retaliated with a powerful reverse punch. Hwoarang brought up his arm quickly to take the jarring impact of the technique. The puncher had overextended though and Hwoarang immediately decided to take advantage of this. He quickly put one foot on the young man's thigh and used it to push him to be aerially beside the unknown fighter's head. He quickly snapped his other leg back into the skull of the Japanese youth successfully knocking him face first into the ground. First blood Hwoarang thought to himself as his feet made contact with the ground again.

"HEY, YOU STILL IN THERE?" asked the orderly snapping Hwoarang back to reality.

'Damn I A.D.D.ed out again!' Hwoarang yelled at himself.

"Well I have to be leaving now. But I do have a letter for you," the orderly gave Hwoarang the letter.

"I hope to meet you again. Maybe I can even pick up some TKD tips," the orderly said with stars in his eyes.

"Yea, maybe," Hwoarang replied casually his attention more focused on the paper in front of him.

"Well I will see you again someti…." The orderly was caught off before he could finish his sentence.

"What the hell," Hwoarang stated in a complete deadpan voice as his eyes were wide looking at the letter.

"Not good news?" asked the orderly.

Hwoarang looked at the orderly with a glance that could put fear in any demon, "Get me out of here, NOW!"


	4. Handcuffs and memories

Reunion of Souls

Chap 4

For the reviewers

BlackTiger: Thank you very much. Not sure what the Korean means though. Would you mind telling me?

Slushee: This chap was basically a setup for the next few. But I added a fight seen at the end of it I hope you appreciate. 

Hwoarang paced his cell in a vivid passion. He could not believe this. He would not believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. Yet, there was so much going on in his head he no longer knew what to believe. Could it be a lie? Who would benefit from this trick? He knew of the many tricks that Heihachi used to trap people into his tournaments. However, he could not find any benefit for Heihachi to lie to him. Heihachi was the only one with the power to pull a stunt like this. So was it really sent from the Korean military?

Hwoarang could not make heads or tails of it. However, he did know that the invoice contained inside the letter granted him permission to return to the military base he ran away from so long ago. The orderly had taken it to his supervisor. After a long period of time, he returned with the news that Hwoarang would be transported the next day.

Hwoarang could not wait. He paced his cell. He kicked the bars idle. He shadow sparred in the corner. Anything to help his body relax. However, every time it did his mind would begin to race and the pattern would restart. The orderly he had been talking to would come by and asked if he wanted anything to drink. The direct command of Hwoarang's letter was to assure the young man's safety and comfort for the continuation of his stay. The orderly immediately stepped up to take on the job. He had been there keeping an eye on the redhead since. His attention was especially focused when Hwoarang went into his shadow sparring moments.

Time passed slowly for the fiery Korean. After what seemed like an eternity, two men joined the orderly in viewing Hwoarang from outside his cell.

"We are here to take you back to your military station," one of the men said without emotion. "However, you are considered a very dangerous passenger. We are going to ask you to place these shackles on your arms and legs."

Hwoarang looked at the utensils meant to keep him in order. For his hands, there was a simple pair of handcuffs. Ankle cuffs that would allow him enough space to walk comfortable but not much more would confine his legs. He did not like the idea; however, he did not have much of a choice. He put the cuffs on his feet first testing how far apart his feet could go. Internally he knew that he could still do some low sweep kicks with these things on. If things got heated, he also knew that he could still knee his opponents. The handcuffs were not as bad of a confinement in his mind. He could still block and use double hand techniques for striking. He could also use these cuffs to capture someone in a neck lock that he could follow up with knees and elbow strikes. He had the orderly cuff his hands through his cell bars and was immediately transported to the flight station of the embassy.

"We have a soldier being returned to his main station after being captured," stated the man who was escorting Hwoarang.

"Permission granted," was all the flight attendant said.

Hwoarang was no longer paying full attention to the ordeal. His mind had escaped into past memories. He was currently remembering a very precious moment. He could still see it all. There was a flash of pale white that had risen above him. At the top of its ascent, it came crashing back down at him as the tan skin heel of a foot became quite noticeable. Hwoarang had a second to react and he did. The red head sidestepped the crushing ax kick and allowed his movement to flow into a quick mid roundhouse. However, his opponent had already predicted this movement and followed the ax quick with a quick snap kick that caught Hwoarang's solar plexus while opening for the roundhouse. The red head felt the hit connect solidly and forced his breath out with a kihup before it was knocked out by the heel. It was not the perfect defense but it was better then just taking the hit. He did not have long to recover though as a second snap kick shot at his face. Hwoarang barely blocked it. However, he failed to notice the sweep hook that followed it. The red head could feel that his footing was compromised so he chose to aim for a low kick of his own. It was a bad choice though because the fighter who was crouched in his sweep now rose with a powerful sidekick that connected with the red heads chest knocking him back several feet.

'He always was tricky to spar,' Hwoarang thought from his seat.

Hwoarang had taken the hit in stride and immediately wanted to close the distance. He quickly rushed in ducking the jab meant to stop him. He rose into a rising front kick that his opponent swayed. He immediately brought the kick back down and in a flash, a clothed forearm had taken the blow. Hwoarang looked into the eyes of his opponent. In those dark brown eyes, he saw a hint of surprise. Hwoarang would use that to his advantage. He brought that foot back up into a snap roundhouse. This was also blocked by the same forearm. Hwoarang immediately whipped his back leg around into a full ax kick. The strike was perfect, however, his opponent had again moved to the side allowing the vertical hit to go by him unanswered. Hwoarang did not see the knife hand that whacked him on the side of his head. The red head found himself once again on the ground. He looked up to see another heel coming down to hit him. Hwoarang chose to roll to the side and came up with a rising back kick. To his surprise, the hit had actually connected with the iron midsection of his opponent.

"Not bad," Baek acknowledged the hit. Hwoarang was excited. He could count the times he had successfully hit Baek without using all his fingers. Baek did not give him much time to celebrate though. He closed the distance and launched a snap sidekick that Hwoarang blocked. With the same leg, Baek threw a high hook kick that Hwoarang had successfully swayed. The young Korean then returned fire with a reverse hook kick that Baek swayed himself. The mid roundhouse that Hwoarang followed up with thudded sharply with the older Korean's forearm. Hwoarang tried to catch Baek with a quick jab hoping to attack before the Korean had recovered from the impact. Hwoarang's plan failed miserable though as Baek simple ducked under the punch leaving Hwoarang overextended and well off guard. Baek rose with a vicious 360-hook kick. However, Hwoarang was determined fight. He hastily side stepped out off the path of the hook. He even managed to block the roundhouse kick that was sharply turned into an ax. The red head never saw the 360 crescent until it collided with the side of his temple leaving him dazed and unable to block the following backpivot. Baek's foot hit accurately causing Hwoarang to falter back several feet trying to regain his composure. He stood there in both awe and aggravation. He knew he could not beat Baek. However, he was hell bent to prove one thing to the man he respected so much. Hwoarang would show that he was a challenge to the seasoned TKD champion.

Baek never stood still for long though. He rushed at the young red head Hwoarang tried to stop his approach with a quick reverse punch. Baek had seen this coming though and successfully parried away the hand. Hwoarang was once again off balance and Baek used it to his advantage immediately. He grabbed the young Korean by his jacket as his foot slid inside Hwoarang's stance. With a quick tug, Hwoarang could feel a complete loss of balance that was being shifted over the pivot point of Baek's leg. Hwoarang looked once again from the floor to his mentor. The red head simple smirked as he once again rose from the floor and went into a passionate fighting stance.

"You look like a phoenix the way you get up so quickly with that fiery red hair," Baek mentioned.

Hwoarang only nodded as he quickly closed the gap hoping to prolong the rush of combat with his mentor. The red head knew that he could not keep up his pace for long so he decided to go into a long combo hoping to keep Baek on his guard. Hwoarang threw a quick crescent that was followed by a low sweep hook. Baek had blocked both and brought his forearm forward to block both the snap side kick and the middle hook kick that followed. Hwoarang had hoped the next low kick would destroy Baek's stance. However, as he threw the low sidekick he watched in awe as the older Korean hopped into the air tucking both his legs close to his body effectively missing the low strike. Hwoarang realized then why so many people regarded Baek with the image of a hawk. As he looked to be suspended in the air, Baek had an almost predatory look in his eyes. The look that an animal would see in a hawk seconds before being attacked. Baek extended his left leg into a snap sidekick that knocked Hwoarang off balance. The older Korean used the momentum and force of the impact to stay in the air longer and deliver a backpivot kick. Hwoarang could not believe that this move was possible. However, Baek was not done yet. Continuing with the momentum of the second kick, Baek raised his left leg high in the air. As Baek finally descended back to the ground, the raised leg came down in an ax kick that grounded the young Korean.

Hwoarang just laid there for a moment. The move he had just seen was beyond his belief. He could only imagine the peril he would have been in if Baek had not controlled the technique and hit him with full force.

"Are you ok," Baek asked in a voice showing a large deal of concern.

"Yes sir, I just can't believe what you just did," the young Hwoarang said sitting up. "How did you ever learn a move like that?" Hwoarang thought that he was maybe thirteen at this time. He could remember the sheer difference in size between him and his master. He could remember a time when he was shorter then his mentor. He could remember this time when he would often sit for hours watching the TKD legend practice against a heavy bag. How long has it been Hwoarang thought to himself? He could not remember the answer though so he continued to stare out the window of his plane at the ground far below him.


	5. I'm still alive

ROS 5

I'm still alive.

The title is both for the chapter and me. I took a long break because of a lot of things going on. I hope you all can forgive me.

I not own Tekken.

Waist.

Everything is about the waist. Every punch, every kick, every throw, block, and parry must come from the waist, the very core of one's body. With a simple twist or lean of one's waist a great amount of power can be generated.

A shuddering roundhouse hits the mid section of the bag. The figure wearing a grayed and sweat soaked dobak sharply pivots his hips to retract his first lead roundhouse into another powerful body roundhouse. A quick push of the legs slides the pony-tailed fighter to his optimum distance. A sharp one two punch combo pops the heavy bag so that it seems to dance in place. The bag is given no reprieve as the fighter lifts his well trained left leg. Through several compact hip motions that bag is hammered by a side, hook, and roundhouse kick in quick succession. A quick pivot throws the man's ponytail into a vortex. Slight traces of silver shine in the once dark brown hair. The bag is sharply bent as the Korean's heel makes impact from the back pivot kick. Everything is done with the waist. Baek knows this well.

The first of the cadets start to come in the room. As they slowly start their warm up exercises and watch Baek do his bag work, the TKD master starts to devise today's lesson. He was a lucky man to first survive being attacked by Ogre. He was even luckier to have been found and transported to this military base where he is paid to do what he is good at, teach Tae Kwon Do. The men who hired him had heard of his fighting history and made a very lucrative offer shortly after he regained consciousness. He had no money, a two year doctor bill, and was thought to be dead by most of the people he had known. "Sure, what have I got to lose?" And with those words Baek was put in charge of hand to hand training for the military academy. His superiors had told Baek to be rough with the soldiers so that they would be ready for the rigors of military combat. That is the other thing I am good at, being rough, thought Baek.

His first day had been a trial of proof for the young, cocky soldiers. Many viewed the old man in the ragged TKD uniform as close to decrepit and ill suited for their needs.

"This old fart will break before we are done with warming up", sneered a larger cadet.

"Yeah, what good is grandpa in war", another chimed in. Baek watched the group slowly receive courage from the large cadet that seemed to be the unofficial leader. Baek smiled at the classic display of mob mentality.

"Well then kids, how about you show this old man how it is done", Baek said through a lazy smile.

As the TKD fighter predicted the group surrounded him. The kids of Korea were always rough Baek thought. One particular kid came to Baek's thoughts. He had started to search for the young redhead. However, news of his whereabouts came to him first. He was handed the paper that documented his student's behavior and escape from the armed services. 'I take a two year nap and you get yourself into this much trouble. What am I going to do with you kid?' He had also learned of his eventual capture and had received permission to enact his discipline upon the once gangster. He was thankful that Hwoarang was not going to be court marshaled or worse. I will have to deal with him later thought.

The largest of the cadets charged the old martial artist. Baek simple stepped to the side allowing the large framed Korean to whiff pass him. While the youngster turned back to face his target Baek had already raised his right leg in a high arc. As the ax kick cracked down on the surprised cadet's face, the others were already starting to rush Baek.

'Excellent,' Baek thought, 'Now I can attack from one spot and not need to close any distances.'

The largest cadet was now on the floor cradling his broken nose and already swelling lip. Baek had quickly pulled his kicking leg close to his waist, his source of power. With a quick pivot on his standing foot, Baek delivered a thunderous snap side kick to the closest cadet that was trying to flank him. The kick had the desired effect. He felt three ribs crack from his strike and the kid knocked down two other cadets on his way across the floor.

The old Korean placed his kicking foot on the ground and ducked the haymaker punch coming from his right. With a quick shift in stance, Baek rose up delivering a powerful uppercut to the chin of said cadet. One sharp look from the TKD fighter's eyes let him know that the cadet was out on his feet. However, Baek was not done yet with him yet. Their were two cadets trying to grab him from behind. He did not have enough time to turn and defend against the oncoming assailants and he did not have room to evade. He planted one foot on the knocked out but standing cadets thigh. He quickly put another on his shoulder and used his other foot to deliver a kick to the back of the kid's skull. The grab Baek was using usually had a much sharper kick. However, the kid was already knocked out and Baek did not want to further injure him….too much. The kick Baek delivered to his skull was more of a push kick that sent the cadet into the two onrushing Koreans.

The other purpose for this maneuver was to push him towards the next victim. While still in the air Baek pulled back his fist. The cadet he was descending toward had a deer in the headlight look in his eyes. For just a second he saw the old man as something else….something more primitive. His body was posed to strike with all the fury it could possess. However, it was his eyes that scared the cadet the most. It was as if a hawk had singled him out for prey. One look into the old man's eyes told the cadet that Baek only thought of one thing. And that was the cadet's forehead at the moment.

Baek's punch landed about two seconds before he himself landed. The transfixed cadet was sent crushing to the ground completely unconscious.

Baek turned towards the remaining cadets with the slightest of growls. The remaining men stood transfixed in fear as they looked at many of their fellow cadets had been knocked unconscious in a single move by this TKD master. Baek took one step forward and they all flinched visible.

One of them bowed deeply. "Forgive us for our rudeness sir. Please do not hurt us." All the other cadets followed up with their own deep bows.

Baek's whole demeanor changed instantly. He relaxed and allowed his hands to come to rest on his hips. "Well then, please carry your fellow men to the infirmary. They will need medical attention. I will expect to see you all on time tomorrow." With that said Baek began whistling to himself as he started to pound on the bags. His superiors would later compliment Baek on his skill and sternness with the cadets. Baek was only thinking about the remaining kinks he still needed to work out after his little "vacation".

That had been about a month ago now. The cadets that were coming in now were still the same ones. They followed Baek's orders for warming up exactly as they had been told to and they waited quietly until Baek was ready to address them.

"Alright gentleman, 20 laps," barked the TKD instructor.

The men were very quick to do their task. They had learned something in the month since their attempt to gang up on the aging Korean. He could fight like hell. However, his verbal reprimands were on a level that could make hell feel like a nice vacation.

Baek heard a door slide behind him. 'Funny, no one is allowed to come in here during training.' Before Baek turned to the intruder something in his instincts already told him what he was about to see.

The first thing he noticed was the long red hair. It seemed longer then he last remembered. He then noticed the frame of the person he once took in as merely a child. 'The kid has grown, at least physically,' thought Baek. His cloths were civilian. He was technically in a state of suspension from the military. He was wearing a pear of his old blue jeans and a dark crimson muscle shirt. Baek finally looked the kid in the eyes. He had these amber colored eyes. Baek could remember how Hwoarang had started to use this eye color and his then maturing physique during puberty to attract more women then Baek could keep track of. Right now those eyes seemed a bit watery.

"You're still alive," Hwoarang said shakily.

"It happens," Baek said with a sarcastic and caring smile on his face.

"But, but… how," the redhead was still having trouble with words.

"Well, it usually requires breathing, some food, and a bit of brain activity."

Hwoarang gawked at Baek's use of sarcasm. He was about to remark but never got the chance.

"Cadet, I am now in charge of your discipline and hand to hand combat instruction," Baek roared. "We will start with 200 laps. Get started NOW."

Hwoarang had snapped to attention the second he heard that old commanding voice. When Baek was done he hesitated just a second. "Isn't that…"

Baek interrupted, "I agree that is not enough make it 300!"

Hwoarang saw where any further debate would lead and began his long running exercise.

'This "disciplining" should be good for a laugh,' thought Baek as he hid the smile of seeing his adopted son again.


End file.
